Flip that house!

As much fun as summer is supposed to be...we seem to be working a LOT! The last 6 weekends have been dedicated to fixing up our house in Renton to sell this summer. On top of that, Daniel has been going down on Thursdays to be there for inspections, carpet installation, and other home improvements. Still, we have managed to enjoy some BBQ's, baby showers, time with friends/family, summer movies and celebrating Mother's Day and Father's Day as parents "to-be".

I rummaged up some old pictures of the Renton house where we lived for 6 months after getting married in 2005. Since then, we've had a renter in the house as we moved to California and then back to Seattle in July 2007. Now, as we approach this new adventure of parenthood, we have committed to living simple and debt-free. Some of the pictures don't transfer well, but here is a glimpse of the "before" and "after" of the Renton house.

The front view of the house which had been taken over by weeds, blackberry bushes, morning glory and ivy now has been recovered to flower beds and beauty bark. The trim and patio have been painted and a new roof is getting put on this week.

Around the side of the house, there was an overgrown yard, mossy deck and it was in need of lots of love. Friends and family pitched in to clear out the yard, put plastic and beauty bark down, pressure wash the deck and back patio and Daniel stained the deck as well. It's looking much more inviting now!

The attic which started even more bare than this...it's been insulated, mud, taped, textured, painted, electrical lights and outlets added, new carpet, new closed in storage space, new closet, and new handrail on the stairs. It's now considered a 4th bedroom space for the house and could be a great kids room, office or recreational space!

The kitchen had old 80's type wallpaper which took a 3 step process of removal. I peeled off the top layer which came off in surprisingly good strips. Then the more tedious part of spraying the adhesive layer was next and finally scraping it off with a wallpaper scraper. This took me about 5 hours total. After that, I washed the walls and Daniel finished it off by painting it. The change is drastic in that it 1) gets the 80's wallpaper off the walls but 2) makes the room open up and flow into the dining room more naturally.

The realtor, who is a family friend has been coming and giving suggestions. This past Sunday, she also came to stage the house to get it ready for the market. Although it gives some personality and will be a great addition for showing it to prospective buyers, it's slightly painful to watch someone bring stuff back into the house and put nails back in the wall to hang paintings!

Now let's just hope it sells! If you know of anyone looking for a house in South Seattle, let me know. We plan to put it on the market within a week.